The present disclosure relates to a developing device and an image forming apparatus provided with the same.
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer or a facsimile machine, a toner image is formed on an image carrier (e.g. photoconductive drum or transfer belt) by supplying toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier and developing the electrostatic latent image. A touch-down development method using a developer containing nonmagnetic toner and magnetic carrier, a magnetic one-component development method and the like are known as methods for development. In the touch-down development method, a two-component developer layer (so-called magnetic brush layer) is carried on a magnetic roller, toner is moved onto a developing roller from the two-component developer layer and a toner layer is carried on the developing roller. Conventionally, a technology for providing a resin layer on a surface of the developing roller arranged to face a photoconductive drum is known. Further, there is known an immersion method (dip method, dipping method) of manufacturing a developing roller by immersing a stock tube of the developing roller in a resin liquid in which a resin material is dissolved in advance.